Forced Marriage To The Psychotic Billionaire ( Book 2)

Chapter 26: The Ideation

A soft knock sounded on Lorena's door, and she quickly wiped off her tears. "Who's that?" She called, sitting up.

"It's me, my lady," Tanika said.

"Okay. Come in then." The door pushed open, and Tanika came in, with Maria following behind. As soon as Lorena's eyes caught sight of Maria, she felt a tickling sensation run through her body. It never ceased to amaze her how someone with such an eye for fashion design was always on mismatched bright colors. It was quite a phenomenon.

"My lady." Maria smiled, walking over to her. The dampened air in the room suddenly brightened, and Lorena felt like she could breathe again.

"Hello, sunshine," She laughed, patting the space beside her. "You too, Tanika, take a seat." Tanika proceeded to the dressing chair and sat on it. She used that to her advantage, allowing herself to review the lady's different products.

"Alonso said there's a meeting today, so I thought I could ride with you." Lorena's smile quickly dropped, and Maria's face went to Tanika, wondering what she had said wrong.

"Yeah, I got his text. Unfortunately, Mar, I can't go out right now," She quickly took her hands into hers when she noticed her head dropped. "You'll have to go alone, but don't worry. I'll send a driver to drop you off."

"But why can't you go, my lady? Is something wrong?" Again, another silence ensues. Lorena was unsure how to tell her Markris didn't want her going out. It sounded ridiculous to her ears. Imagine telling anyone who wasn't family about this fucked up situation.

"The lady isn't feeling too well," Tanika suddenly said. "She needs to rest." Lorena shot her a grateful look, and her eyes communicated a silent You're welcome.

"Oh? No wonder you looked so pale when I walked in. I'm so sorry, my lady. Have you taken any medications yet?" Her worried eyes searched Lorena's face.

"I'll be fine, Maria,"  She simply said, not having it in her to spew another lie. "Tanika? Please tell one of the drivers to drive Maria to the meeting."

"Okay, my lady." She bowed, and Lorena shook her head.

"When are you all going to learn not to bow to me? It's getting ridiculous." She rolled her eyes and waved them away.

"You're the best lady, Lorena; you deserve to be treated like a queen," Maria said, giving her a thumbs up, and Tanika nodded in agreement.

"A queen?" Lorena scoffed. "You girls are something else." She managed a weak laugh as she said goodbye to them.

Immediately they left her room. She felt her mood dampen again. This whole Markris punishment was not sustainable. What exactly was she supposed to say whenever she was asked why she couldn't make it to her important schedules? There was nothing fair about it. She sighed, burying herself in her bed again as she thought of the best way to combat it. She realized that even if Verona came, it would only worsen the situation. Knowing Markris, he could very well order that the door be shut to Verona. Knowing her father, too, he was going to agree with Markris. Probably say, "Verona, you should mind your own business and focus on your own family." She hissed. That sounded exactly like what her father was capable of saying.

Her phone suddenly rang beside her, and her eyes dropped to the call id. It was an unknown number, which piqued her curiosity the more. As it stood, they were only about three or four people that had her new number, so without hesitation, she picked up the call.

"Hello?"

She could hear heavy breathing at the other end of the line, but whoever it was wasn't saying anything. She moved the phone from her ears to check the screen, then moved it back to her ears. "Is anyone there?" Still, there was no answer.